Every year, on the same day, another one appeared: a black dahlia.
She had almost run out of space to put them around her villa.
Each year the perennials re-sprouted, a forest of dark bloomage that shrouded her white walls.
The shadow they cast she could not escape. The blackness in her heart was embodied in their display. She kept them as a reminder.
Someone knew what she had done.
She opened the door and saw the new arrival. This one was red, the same colour as the blood on her hands.
The gunshot echoed around the white walls.
Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).
To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
My first novel, ‘A Justified State,’ is available now
Iain Kelly 
96 responses to “RECOMPENSE”
I love the device of strange knowing gifts
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Thanks Neil
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All it takes is one plum unwelcome symbol to trigger an equally unwelcome flashback~
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Thanks Larry
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It reminds me of “I Know What You Did Last Summer”.
Great concept here.
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Thank you
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Great post Iain.
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Thank you Di
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Awesome. No matter what she’s done, it must be hell to live like that, in the shadow of consequences yet to come. Perhaps she was relieved that this flower was red.
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Interesting that it may have been a relief to her, I like that reading of it, thank you 🙂
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Sounds like someone got their revenge!
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After a long wait, must be a patient person 🙂
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Dear Iain,
Great use of color in this piece. Hmm…is it the source of the photo that sends us in a homicidal direction?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hey!
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Yes, it most definitely is! 🙂
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There’s usually someone who knows. A well-executed tale Iain.
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There’s always one. Thanks Keith.
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Creepy story! The Black Dahlia is still unsolved, too.
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Yep, James Ellroy fan here, and just got his new book to read too.
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Intriguing piece, Iain.
Guess she was a bad lady.
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She must have done something. I didn’t like to ask.
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Ooh! This is chilling. 😱
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Thank you, that was the intention!
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👍👌
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Sounds like she finally snapped. Assuming of course that she shot herself and wasn’t polished off by her stalker.
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Could be taken either way.
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Oh no …
No more black dahlias in THIS location but I have me a feeling they’ll begin arriving at another’s place …
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Could be a serial offender, you think? Maybe!
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I donnow, but I don’t like them, whomever they are …
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They certainly have a violent streak
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The end could go either ways. Loved this, Kelly
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Thank you so much Neel
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Good plot, with an intriguingly ambiguous ending. Did the messenger shoot her for revenge? – your title suggests so. Or she could have shot herself through guilt; that too fits the title. Or maybe she shot the messenger, to get him to stop messing with colour scheme of her garden!
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Ha, true angry at the red flower! 🙂 Thanks Penny
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Reads like a film noir, Iain. Great use of colors.
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Thank you so much
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Great story, Iain, with an ambiguous ending.
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Thank you so much
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You’ve given us plenty of room to surmise our own conclusions. Well done, Iain.
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Thank you Russell
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I would thik after all those years of dread the shot will have come as a relief. Great story.
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It may well have done. Thanks Liz
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Iain, really great stuff, she’s being watched by someone, love it
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Thank you
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Revenge or suicide…either way the story is great!
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Thank you DB, I will let you decide the ending 🙂
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Such an interesting tale, Ian. I love the ambiguous ending.
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Thank you so much
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Well, this one really makes us think: I’m still trying to figure out if I like it better thinking she killed herself or thinking the bearer of the red dahlia did her in. 🙂
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Thank you Sandra 🙂
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Well done. I think the red dahlia made her snap.
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Thank you Sascha
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it looks like karma has finally caught up with her.
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Thank you
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Does Nature know what she did, or did feelings of guilt finally get the better of her? Nice one!
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Thank you – could be many ways this ended.
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She must have been afraid for ages. It seems she had a right to be. A good mystery thriller, Iain. Well written. —- Suzanne
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Thank you Suzanne
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Beautifully plotted, with the slow reveal that these flowers are like ravens, signifying doom not pretty floral gifts. Well done.
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Thank you so much
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You reap what you sow. At last she had got her due in a red dahlia.
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It seems like it. Thank you
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I love this one! Great tension and use of color. Someone very patiently tormented her until their revenge was meted out.
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Thank you Brenda 🙂
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Blood on her hands, finally revenged. The killer was a patient stalker. Great tension here.
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Thank you Linda. Being patient is a good skill for a stalker to have.
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Damn, that’s a long game for revenge. Well played.
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Revenge is best served that way 😉
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Such a pretty home with dark secrets in and out.
I found it intriguing enough to want to continue reading, Iain.
Isadora 😎
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Thank you so much
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Wow!
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Thanks Dawn, I assuming it’s a good ‘wow’!
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And yet, you seem like such a mild-mannered man… this is a dark side of you!
And funny, I watched the series “I Am the Night” just a couple months about the Black Dahlia…
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Thanks Dale. I’m a firm believer that everyone has a dark side lurking there – in general, the nicer someone seems, the darker their dark side will be! 😉
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Here’s to skeletons in the closet. They will get you one way or another. 🙂👍
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They make for good stories too!
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Oooooo someone knows the truth. Well told and very creepy with mysterious gifts appearing
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Thanks Laurie
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There is a terrible sense of torment in this, revenge delivered in a slow drip – not knowing exactly when. Hellish. I liked the tension.
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Thank you James, hope the new book is going well.
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Thanks Iain, slow start with the book, still trying solve the market hype.
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The anonymous flower giver certainly wanted to prolong her suffering, with all those black dahlias. A very original idea, and a gripping story. Like other commenters, I love the ambiguity of the ending.
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Thank you so much Margaret 🙂
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Well done, Iain. Beautifully written and you used the image of the black dahlia to great effect.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Thank you Rowena
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Powerful imagery in this “bite-sized” thriller!
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Thank you
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Given the title, I think she shot herself. Grisly tale, full of mystery and symbolism.
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Thank you – seems to be a 50/50 split on what may have happened in the end!
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Clicked the like button after the first line. Brilliant story, Iain. Justice was self-served in the end.
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Thank you so much Fatima 🙂
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Nature has a way of reminding her of her black/dark deeds. what goes around comes around.
https://ideasolsi65.blogspot.com/2019/06/property.html
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There’s no escaping your past. Thank you
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Thank you
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Probably dusting off the old revolver and practicing her shooting skills. Someone’s identity best remain a secret.
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Thanks for reading
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